Connection
by Fauna Greywolf
Summary: Ever wonder how the Care Bears and Cousins go from growing up together to meeting for the first time in the span of two movies? Where did Harmony go? Why are the Cousins tummy symboless? Read and find out
1. Chapter 1

"Thanks again for helping organize the Hall of Hearts Brave Heart."

"Sure thing Tender Heart. It will make issuing the caring missions a lot easier." Brave Heart opened another drawer in the desk, causing a cloud of dust to cover his face. Sneezing so forcefully he flew back in his rolly chair, he hit the wall.

Tender Heart laughed as stars circled his new best friends head. 3 months had passed and most of the cousins had merged into the family seamlessly.

Dusting himself off, the lion cleared his throat and "CHARGE." He attacked the desk and began dumping out the drawers.

"Wow, he's really going at it." Cheer, Love-a-lot, and Proud Heart had wandered in to offer their help. "Is he always so adamant about work?"

Proud Heart rolled her eyes, "Prrrrrrretty much."

Tender Heart came over and linked his arm through Love-a-Lots. "You can help me over here."

She blushed but let him pull her over.

The remaining two went to a filing cabinet in the corner. Proud Heart pulled on the top drawer and met resistance. "Hey, this one is locked. Where is the key?"

The others came over to investigate. "Hmmm, I don't know. I haven't seen one. Have you Brave Heart?"

He looked into the lock, "Not one that will fit that."

"Cheer, can you go get Grumpy and Bright Heart and ask them to bring their tools?" She nodded at Tender Heart and left.

"What do you suppose is in there?"

"We never used it Proud Heart. It always just stayed in the corner. Come to think of it, I don't know why we never used it." Love-a-Lot looked to Tender Heart who shrugged.

"…and how am I expected to get anything done if he keeps having me start a new project when I'm in the middle of another."

"Sounds like they're here." And indeed Grumpy, Bright Heart, and Cheer came into the Hall of Hearts not even a millisecond after Brave Heart had finished announcing their arrival. Cheer pointed out the troublesome filing cabinet to Grumpy while Bright Heart got out a screw driver, drill, and hammer.

"Why do you want this thing open all of a sudden?"

"Because Grumpy, we are organizing. That means everything will be organized."

He grumbled something intangible and started to hammer the screw driver through the narrow top of the drawer.

"Grumpy why not just put the drill to the lock?"

Bright Hearts question caused him to miss and hit his thumb. Dropping the hammer and shaking it to alleviate the pain he turned on the raccoon cousin. "Because, in case they decide to use the filing cabinet again, which I have a feeling they will, they'll want to be able to lock it." He picked up the screwdriver again, gave it one more final whack, and ducked as the drawer shot open.

"There, happy?"

They ignored him, six pairs of eyes looking into the drawer. On top of a pile of old papers and photographs, lay a photo in a mahogany frame. The picture was of a yellow bear sitting on a cloud with a purple horse hugging her from behind. Both were smiling at the camera. The room had suddenly gotten very very quiet.

Gingerly, treating the frame as if it were made of glass, Brave Heart lifted it out to inspect it more closely.

"Who are they?"

"How should I know Tender Heart? Their picture is in Care-a-Lot and we didn't even know about Care-a-lot till recently."

"Well I've never seen them before and we've lived in Care-A-Lot since as long as I can remember."

"Oh my goodness, look at this." Proud Heart had fished out another photo. This one was of a castle made of yellow clouds with a gorgeous rainbow fountain in front.

"Where is that?" Grumpy had finally taken interest in this conversation.

"Dunno. What else is in here?"

"Give it back Swift Heart!"

She laughed and ran backwards, dangling the whoopee cushion in front of Playful Heart. "I said I would, but you have to catch me." Because she wasn't looking where she was going, she hadn't realized she'd run into the Hall and was about to collide with the others already there.

As she hit them, they went flying in a bunch of different directions like a group of bowling pins hit by a ball.

Laughing Playful Heart snatched his property out of Swift Hearts paw before she could orient herself. "Hahahahahahahah, looks like I got you this time." It was then he noticed the picture frame on the floor. Picking it up and looking at it, caused a short image to flash across his mind.

_He was in a tree with Proud Heart as cubs. Behind them was the purple horse, trying to urge them down._

Just as suddenly as it had come on it was gone. He furrowed his brow and focused more on the picture. "Swifty, do we know them?"

She shook her head a final time to clear it before looking at the photo. She could hear the others slowly getting to their feet. The faces registered nothing familiar for her.

"Don't think so. Where did this picture come from?"

"Well if you had entered and asked at a normal speed then maybe we could have told you instead of being bowled over."

Rolling her eyes, "Grumpy, you should know by now I don't do slow." She looked at the picture again.

_Why little Swift Heart Rabbit you little stow away…_

Her ears twitched around the room, "Who said that?"

"No one said anything. I think you got knocked a little silly there Swift Heart." Brave Hear glanced at the picture of the castle again and noticed the Cloud Skimmer resting near the fountain.

_A bright light was shining on him as he rolled over in his hammock below deck a frustrated Grumpy swatted at his tail. The yellow bear smiled at them._

"That's odd." He looked at Grumpy. "I think we knew each other before Nicholas and the Spirit made us meet.

"But you just said you've never seen them before."

"I know. But I also heard tales of far off places long ago. Those had to come from somewhere."

"We need to figure out who these two are. I'm suddenly getting a bad feeling about all of this." They agreed with Tender Heart and continued to search the filing cabinet.

Later that evening the entire family had been gathered for a Care Bear Conference. Among the rest of the contents of the drawer were photos, letters, simple children's drawings, and a map. These were now being passed around the table for everyone to examine. The photos were mostly of when they were cubs and most had some part of the yellow castle in it. But they all showed both Cousins and Bears.

"So it's obvious we all knew each other as cubs, but for some reason we can't remember anything about that, or this castle, or these two."

As Tender Heart spoke the pictures reached Brave Heart. He looked through them casually until he realized one was thicker then the others. Examining the side he saw that two pictures were stuck together. He carefully pulled them apart and froze as another memory flared to life.

_He was in a cloud row boat on the rainbow lake. Across from him sat a violet bear gazing at a glowing star buddy with a smile on her face. When the star buddy flew away, she fixed her eyes on Brave Heart._

_Harmony _

"Hang on a moment. Look at this!" He shoved the picture under Tender Hearts nose. "I remember her! Her name was Harmony."

Share snatched the picture from him, "I remember her too!"

With the mention of her name, many of the others voiced their sudden enlightenment on once having an acquaintance with this bear.

Swift Heart stood up, "So lemme get this straight. According to the evidence presented here, we all grew up together, were separated and had our memory wiped and in our case tummy symbols stolen, and three members of our family just vanished. Does any one else think this sounds crazy?"

"I'll admit it's a little far fetched, but what other explanation is there." There was murmured agreement around the room with both Tender Heart and Swift Hearts statements.

Tender Heart continued, "We need more answers, and to get them I think we're going to have to find this yellow castle."

It was decided that in the morning a small group of Bears and Cousins would follow the Rainbow River upstream via the cloud mobiles to see if they could locate the mysterious castle.


	2. Chapter 2

The group left around 7:00 the next morning, not sure how long it would take them to find the castle, if they found it at all. One cloud mobile held Tender Heart, Grumpy, and Funshine and in the other were Brave Heart, Cozy Heart, and Swift Heart who was asleep in the backseat.

Imagine their surprise when no more then an hour later they saw the towers of the yellow castle.

Brave Heart and Funshine landed the cloud mobiles just outside the door.

Swift Heart awoke with a start when her seat suddenly vanished from beneath her. "What…are we there?"

"Morning sleeping beauty." Cozy Heart whistled to her friend with a slight giggle.

The others looked at the Care Castle. It was one huge lower level with five towers coming off it, each capped with a rainbow spire. The largest had a huge star shaped window that overlooked the Rainbow Fountain and pool in front. Flowing from the pool in two separate directions started the Rainbow River. Off to the right of the castle was a Caring Meter.

_A boy in a red jump suite and wearing sunglasses placed his tools back in his tool box as the caring meter let out a defeated 'dong'. "There let it cool down for a bit, and it will be good as new."_

Grumpy blinked rapidly, scowling at the memory, "Does any Caring Meter ever work properly!" The other looked at him wondering what had brought that up. 

"So lets split up into pairs and take a look around. Tender Heart and Funshine will cover the main floor, Grumpy and Cozy Heart the towers, and Swift Heart and I will take the grounds. We'll meet back here in an hour."

"Why do you get to decide who goes where Brave Heart?"

"Because Grumpy he doesn't want to go into the Castle since he's scared of the dark." Swift Heart replied with a teasing tone to her voice.

Brave Heart flabbergasted quickly covered her mouth with his hands "Shhh!"

Laughing they split up into their groups and began to explore.

45 minutes

"This is so weird. How can we not remember ever living here. I mean we've seen a kitchen full of hi-chairs, play pens in that room over there, and even some old toys in that closet. I'm not even getting a sense of de…." She stopped mid sentence, staring at a wall.

"Funshine?"

"…ja vu." Tender Heart joined her, starring at the wall. A large blue splat blemished the yellow.

_Young Funshine was finger painting with Share and Gentle Heart. Brave Heart and Good Luck came in chasing a toy airplane and accidentally ran over Funshine's drawing. In aggravation she picked up the blue paint and threw it at them. They ducked to avoid and the paint splattered allover the wall. _

"Did you do that?" She nodded to him before going to run her paw over the long dried accident.

Elsewhere on the grounds Swift Heart and Brave Heart were playing on the see-saw they had discovered.

"I remember you getting in trouble for sneaking away all the time."

"Yeah well I remember you getting in trouble for not putting your toys away." Retorted Swift Heart.

"Well I remember you not liking to take baths." Answered Brave Heart.

Swift Heart stopped, her feet on the ground and a wicked look in her eye. "I remember you getting in trouble for doing this!" She quickly jumped off her end of the see-saw causing Brave Heart to slam into the ground.

He growled and ran at her, chasing her back towards the castle. "Why are you picking on me so much today?"

"You made me get up early."

Grumpy watched the two Cousins chase through the giant star window. Brave Heart never got closer then 20ft from Swift Heart and she was barely trying. Other then Bright Heart, he really hadn't spent much time with the Cousins. He and Goodluck had missed out on the original meet and greet because he was yet again stuck fixing the Rainbow Rescue Beam. Swift Heart waving at him made him realize he had spaced out and was starring at her. Blushing he quickly pulled away from the window and went to help Cozy Heart finish searching the nursery.

The penguin cousin was lying in her old bed, evident by the heart with ski cap symbol on the headboard. On one side of her was Champs bed and on the other was Bright Hearts.

_Swift Heart had started crying which had woken everybody else up. Their Guardians had left them with two strange kids as babysitters. The kids had absolutely no idea of what to do to quiet the screaming cubs. Luckily the Star and Heart Buddies were there to help._

"Do you remember 2 kidssss taking care of us when we were younger?"

Grumpy opened a cabinet and was soon covered in an avalanche of baby bottles. He fell to the floor and felt the floorboard beneath him slide away. Getting up and shaking the bottles off of him he peered into the secret compartment. Inside was an envelope addressed to "The Care Bear Family."

In a very uncharacteristic manner, Grumpy yelled loud enough for the others to hear,

"You guys! Get up here now!"

Even though she was outside Swift Heart was the first one there, joined almost immediately by Tender Heart and Funshine. Brave Heart arrived panting a couple seconds after.

"Look what I found under the floor board. It's addressed to everyone."

"Well then let's get home and read it to the others. It may be important and if it's addressed to us all, then all of us should hear it."


	3. Chapter 3

It took little time to gather everyone into the Hall of Hearts after they heard a letter had been found. Grumpy was going to read the letter since he was the one who found it. Although he grumbled, he was secretly elated.

Going to the podium he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside. Clearing his throat he jumped right in:

"_Our dear Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins,_

_If you are reading this letter then you found the pictures in the Hall of Hearts and have made your way to the Care Castle. Noble Heart and I are so sorry we had to leave you as we did, but it was the only way to keep the rest of you safe. We never found out what happened to Harmony, but we could not risk loosing everyone in order to find out. We are hoping that you have found one another and our darling Cousins have regained their tummy symbols. If this is not the case, then follow the Rainbow River to the Forest of Feelings and all this will make sense. Assuming you are reunited, continue to read so Noble Heart and I can give you our final farewells. Since we cannot help you regain your lost memories, please trust what we say and follow your hearts._

_Tender Heart: We know you mean well and all you want is to make things run smoothly, but you must remember to listen. Otherwise you may soon be talking to only one._

_Champ: Being the best at something is rewarding, but remember humility is a good trait as well. Use your strength to help the others but don't be afraid to show weakness now and again._

_Birthday: The fact you take the time to remember everyones birthday and ensure they feel special on their day shows us just how much you care. Just remember that when your special day comes, to take time for you. _

_Friend: It is so hard to resist your smile and listening ear, no wonder people love being your friend. Always continue to see the good in everyone._

_Secret: You are the best at keeping secrets and would never betray anyone. So trust the others to do the same. They all care about you and just like Friend will not spill your secrets._

_Funshine: Always remain your bright cheery self and make sure the others do not take themselves too seriously._

_Wish: Your sharp eye and star-o-scope always help to spot trouble. Never forget that if you wish hard enough for some thing it will come true, but you have to believe in it._

_Grumpy: Even as a cub you seemed to always have a scowl on your face. However we were fortunate to get a smile from you now and then. Let the others be as fortunate. When someone makes you happy, don't be afraid to smile. _

_Bedtime: Sleeping has always been your suite. And while dreams are wonderful you might miss something worthwhile in the real world._

_Share: While it's good to share with others, you are allowed to keep some things just for you. No one will think you selfish or greedy._

_Cheer: It's good to want to make others happy and to have them feel as good as you, but there is a time and place where sadness and grief is okay. Be wary not to cross these boundaries. _

_Love-A-Lot: What can we say other than your unconditional love for those closest to you is a wonderful thing. Never give up an opportunity to let someone know you love them._

_Good Luck: Luck can never run out as long as you continue to believe in it. Continue to help others find their own luck._

_Hugs and Tugs: We are so sorry we will not be there to watch you grow. Know the others are there to help you in any way and mind what Grams tells you._

_Grams: Thank you for coming to watch over our family and help the new cubs. Keep in mind all we discussed._

_Brave Heart: Take time to think before charging into every situation head on. Bravery comes in many forms and they don't all include impulsion. Oh, and keep your flashlight close dear_

_Lotsa Heart: You don't have a single mean bone in your body and that's the truth. Let your child like optimism aid you in any difficulty you encounter._

_Gentle Heart: Our sweet little lamb, so soft spoken and kind. Speak up once in awhile so they know how you feel. That doesn't mean being tough or over bearing, just a little louder._

_Loyal Heart: No one will ever question where your loyalties lie, so go have fun once in awhile. You don't have to protect them all the time. _

_Bright Heart: Inventing to help the others is a noble thing. However letting it consume you to the point of only caring about getting them right helps no one. It's okay to leave your workshop now and again._

_Proud Heart: We know you take great pride in appearances and perfection only to make everything look nice. Just be careful this is not taken for arrogance._

_Playful Heart: Silly monkey that you are, your jokes always made us laugh. Be careful not to take the pranks too far to where no one will trust you. But feel free to break up any unnecessary tenseness._

_Swift Heart: Always speeding around, loving the feel of the wind as it whips by. Slow down or you might fly by something worth spending a little time on._

_Treat Heart: No one cooks better than you and you know how to indulge in things that make you happy. Always be aware of when fun needs to stop and it's time to take things seriously. _

_Cozy Heart: Not everyone finds the cold as Cozy as you do so please do not over expose your family to winter activities. However make sure you always continue to help others because it makes you happy._

_We love you all so very much. Do not come looking for us. The reason we are gone is to protect you so keep it that way. We do not regret our choice so don't think for a second we do._

_Love always,_

_True Heart and Noble Heart_

For awhile no one spoke as they absorbed the contents of the letter.

Champ was the first to speak. "Grams? Do you know what happened to them?"

She looked sadly at him. "I know the basics. However because of True Heart and Noble Hearts final wishes I cannot tell you even that. I'm sorry dear."

"What were they trying to keep us safe from anyway?" Inquired Loyal Heart. "I remember a boy called Dark Heart but we defeated him, didn't we?"

Proud Heart nodded, "I remember that too. There must have been something worse then Dark Heart that they needed to protect us from."

"Why does it feel like everytime we find answers, they just unlock more questions."

"I think that was the point Cheer. Remember they don't want us to know what happened to them." Answered Swift Heart.


	4. Chapter 4

For two weeks they tried to forget about the letter Noble Heart and True Heart had left for them. It was harder then they thought it would be because new memories kept resurfacing; enticing them to solve the mystery of their lost founders.

The breaking point came when Secret Bear and Friend Bear returned from a caring mission, making their cloud mobile go as fast as it could.

Wish Bear and Birthday were the closest ones to their landing spot. "You will never guess what we saw on our way home. We decided to take a longer way back, I don't remember why, but anyway there was a castle."

The other two bears exchanged a look, "A castle?"

"Yes it was sitting on a storm cloud and looked dark and creepy. But both Secret and I got the weird dejavu feeling when we flew by it."

"You don't think…" the four exchanged a look before running for the Hall of Hearts calling Tender Hearts name.

10 minutes later

"…and that's why we should go take a look around. Not everyone of course but a group of us could go check it out and if we find anything then we'll come back and tell you."

Tender Heart thought this over. It seemed like the creepy castle might hold the answers they were looking for but he didn't want to get everyones hopes up in case Friend Bear was wrong. "Okay, you four go check it out. But be careful, I don't like the sound of this place."

Meanwhile in the Forest of Feelings

"All I'm saying is that True Heart and Noble Heart would have told us exactly what had happened to them if they wanted to be rescued. The fact we keep digging into the matter makes me feel uneasy." Explained Swift Heart yet again.

It was an ongoing debate among the Cousins. Swift Heart, Loyal Heart, Proud Heart, and Bright Heart felt the matter needed to be dropped. But Brave Heart, Cozy Heart, Treat Heart, Gentle Heart, and Lotsa Heart wanted to return to the Care Castle and see if they could find out anything else. Playful Heart did what the letter had instructed him to do and tried to ease the tension. He currently had on a pair of the fake glasses with the big nose and moustache.

"Well we are gonna go anyway. If we run into trouble we'll send a call back to you." Brave Heart conjured a cloud mobile for Cozy Heart, Gentle Heart, Treat Heart, and Lotsa Heart.

Proud Heart crossed her arms, "So much for thinking before charging into every situation."

Brave Heart smirked and held up a grey object, "At least I remembered my flashlight."

That got a laugh out of the Cousins before they took off.

At the creepy castle:

Wish, Birthday, Friend, and Secret stared at the castle before them. Lightning cracked behind it as wind howled through its windows.

On the bottom of the stairs leading in was an ugly statue of a furry creature with a bad under bite and hat with goggles and a spike on top.

"I wish this place wasn't so creepy."

Birthday grabbed her hand, "Come on Wish Bear." They started up the stairs into the castle, half expecting a decrepit butler to be waiting for them at the door.

The inside was darker and gloomier than the outside. All four Care Bears felt a shiver go up their spine as they looked at the cobwebs and dust. The wind continued to howl and it echoed throughout the cold stone of the castle. In front of them was a staircase and leading out of the room was two hallways.

"Lets start down here first then well meet back here and move on to the upper floors. Secret and I will take the hallway on the left if you and Wish want the one on the right."

"Sounds good to me. Be careful."

Wish stared out two bright stars. "These will help us see and make this place a little less creepy…maybe."

The ground floor rooms did not turn up anything useful as they were mostly empty rooms. Moving on to the next floor turned up a couple of beds and a portrait covered by a sheet. Birthday was about to unveil it when Wish and Friend started to call his name. they had gone up to explore the tower at the very top of the castle while he had finished up in the bedroom. Running up the stairs he hurried into the room.

Inside was a large cauldron, shelves stocked with bottles, and a bookcase full of books. However in the center of the room he saw the cause of Wish and Friends outburst and froze.


	5. Chapter 5

Wish had returned to Care-A-Lot to bring the others to the castle while Secret had gone to the Forest of Feelings to get the Cousins. Grams Bear elected to stay behind with the cubs.

With 25 members of the Care Bear Family in the small tower, it quickly became stuffy and cramped. However no one noticed the discomfort because of what stood before them. Holding each others paws and forming a ring were stone statues of True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse. Carved into the floor at their feet was a triangle with a circle in it.

"Is that really them?"

"I think so Gentle Heart. We have to get them unfrozen." Swift Heart shook her head at Brave Hearts rashness.

She still did not like the feel of this situation; long lost founders of the Care Bear family frozen in a creepy castle, all a resultant of protecting the rest. Keeping to the back she watched the others search the tower for some answers.

Bright Heart was examining the statues when he noticed a piece of paper in their clasped paws.

"Hey look at this." Wriggling it carefully he was able to get it free without tearing the paper. Scanning the paper his eyebrows shot up, "It's a spell. Apparently it's a spell of containment."

"Whats that on the back?" He looked where Treat Heart pointed. At the top in scrawling letters were the words 'Spell of Release.'

The raccoon looked at Brave Heart, "I think I know how to set them free." He read the first step, "Quick, everyone join hands, we have to form a circle of caring energy."

They did so keeping True Heart and Noble Heart at it's center.

Cozy Heart looked at her best friend, "Swift Heart come on." She held out her flipper.

Hesitantly she took it, grabbing Grumpy's paw with her other.

"Next we have to say 'Fundi a nala e" three times."

They did as Bright Heart instructed. On the first lightning cracked so close it felt like it was in the castle. The second time brought the sound of stone cracking from outside. And on the third a bright light filled the tower blinding everyone.

As the spots vanished from their eyes, the care bears saw the statues slowly turn pale yellow and purple. Once their color had returned True Heart took a deep breath in.

"Oh my goodness. Noble Heart, something has gone wrong."

"True Heart, look." Glancing around she saw her family forming a ring around her and her partner.

"Oh my. My dears is it really you?" The Care Bears converged on her hugging her and kissing her. Noble Heart was getting the same treatment from the Cousins.

"We know you said not to help you but we were getting all these memories and we had to figure out what happened to you."

True Heart frowned at Tender Heart, "You were getting memories? But the spell was supposed to erase them all."

Before anyone else could talk, the circle in the center of the triangle carved into the floor started to glow a dangerous red.

"Oh no! You have to get out of here." Noble Heart started to shove some of the cousins out the door.

"Going somewhere?"


	6. Chapter 6

Blocking the exit from the tower was the ugly statue from out front, only he wasn't a statue anymore.

True Heart narrowed her eyes, "Beastly."

The creature cackled "It won't be long noooooooww." He taunted, eyes on the red light.

"Everyone get away from the carving." True Heart and Noble Heart ushered them to the back of the small room, keeping themselves between their family and the light.

A figure clad in a purple robe slowly began to rise out of the floor. "At last I am free! BEASTLY!"

He stumbled forward, "Right here Lord No Heart. What do you need?

"Bring me the charm." His minion looked at him confused.

"The charm? Which charm? You have 700 of them."

No Hearts eyes glowed red "The newest charm you fur brained idiot!!" Beastly yelped and scurried from the room.

The Care Bears stared at the wizard mouths hanging open. "Who are you?" inquired Love-A-Lot

The wizard laughed sending shivers up their spines, "I see your flimsy memory spell prevented a few unpleasant memories from slipping through Noble Heart. Why don't you introduce us."

The horse glowered at him. "He's No Heart. He took Dark Hearts place trying to defeat us and came a lot closer. He's the reason Harmony disappeared and the one who stole the cousin's tummy symbols. So to protect the rest of you we imprisoned him. However the cost of the spell meant we would be frozen along with him. Before we left we wiped your memories hoping you wouldn't come looking for us."

No Heart laughed again.

"You forgot to mention how you were falling apart after I stole Harmony away. Everyone was fighting all the time, no one could agree on anything, and so much caring was being neglected. It was the perfect plan. With enough hate in the air I was able to suck the caring from the cousins. This strengthened my spell and pushed you two to act."

Beastly came somersaulting into the room having tripped over his own feet. "Here it is No Heart. Your anti-Harmony charm."

In his clutches was a circle of glass bordered in black hearts. Pressed into the glass, frozen and unaware was Harmony Bear.

Brave Heart growled, "Let her go No Heart."

"Don't worry Brave Heart, soon you won't care. Give me the charm Beastly."

He tossed it to No Heart but it never made it that far. Playful Heart jumped forward, leaping into the air and grabbing the charm. He landed on the opposite side of the room following a summersault.

"Throw it here Playful Heart." Swift Heart stood by the door waving her arms.

He chortled and tossed it to her, "I love a good game of monkey in the middle." Beastly charged her trying to get it back, but before she could throw the charm back to Playful Heart, Noble Heart yelled at her.

"Run Swift Heart! Run!" She took off without a second thought, having grown up knowing she had to obey that voice.

"After her Beastly." He ran from the room with Playful Heart and Proud Heart hot on his heels. "We'll help Swift, you take care of him."

Before they had a chance to react, No Heart surrounded them with stinging purple magic.

Swift Heart had dashed down the stairs while Beastly tried to catch her by riding down the banister. Playful Heart leapt for the chandelier, hanging from the bottom of it by his tail.

"Up here Swifty." He laughed again and displayed his empty paws.

Stopping she tossed him the amulet as Beastly slid into her. Recovering, the henchman went for the chandelier lever on the wall and pulled it down with a cackle.

Playful Heart leapt free just in time as the chandelier crashed into the floor. As he flipped through the air he sent the amulet to Proud Heart.

"Purrrrrrrfect toss Playful Heart."

Beastly pulled the lever out of the wall and went to stand in front of Swift Heart. She was crouched behind him and held her paw up.

"Put it right here Proud Heart, strike him out."

Beastly crouched down, wiggling his butt as he prepared to hit the "pitch."

Licking her lips, Proud Heart wound back her arm and let loose the charm.

It thudded into Swift Hearts paw as Beastly swung at only air.

Playful Heart spoke into his tail, "Oh and he is out of there folks. Care Cousins 1 Bad Guys 0.

There celebration was short lived as Beastly snatched the charm out of Swift Hearts paws.

"Ha ha haha ha. I've got the charm. All I need to do is get it back to Lord No Heart."

"Cousins call!" Three beams of light hit him simultaneously causing Beastly to yowl. As the calls hit the charm it started to glow and expand. Dropping it when it got too big

Beastly tried to back away, "Ooooooooooh noooooo am I in trouble now. No Heart isn't going to like this."

"Keep the stares going, it's working! She's almost free." Proud Heart encouraged.

Beastly ran for the stairs, "No Heart help!!!"

Stopping their stares the three cousins turned to face the purple bear standing before them. She smiled kindly at them, "I knew you could do it."

Playful Heart smiled back at her, "Welcome back Harmony."

No Heart cackled as he watched the Care Bears flinch away from his magic; stinging them over and over. They didn't have enough room to spread out and use their Care Bear stare on them and he intended to keep it that way till his fur brained assistant returned with the amulet. Then he could finish the plan he had started all those years ago.

"Boss we have a problem! The Cousins freed Harmony from her charm prison so now you can't use her to make them fight and…"

"WHAT! Beastly you idiot, I should have known better then to put you in charge of something so vital."

"Care Bear stare, Cousins call."

Swift Heart, Harmony, Proud Heart, and Playful Heart stared No Heart from the tower doorway, giving their family members the chance to escape his magic.

"Everyone join in stare!"

"Call!"

The stares were quickly zapping No Hearts energy and soon he was forced to take on his tornado form to get away. "This is not over Care Bears. I will not rest until I have rid the world of your love and caring once and for all. I hate you all."

Sucking up a screaming Beastly he flew over the four in the doorway and retreated to a safer part of his castle.

"Should we follow him?"

"No Tender Heart. Let's go home. We have a lot of catching up to do."

True Heart and Noble Heart led the way out; saving the reunion for when they were safely back in Care-A-Lot.


	7. Epilogue

Upon their return to Care-A-Lot Noble Heart and True Heart were told how exactly the Cousins and Care Bears had been reunited and how the memories had started to resurface.

Coincidentally with Noble Heart, True Heart, and Harmony's presence, even more memories started to return.

Among them where how awful the Care Bears and Cousins had treated each other when their Harmony had been taken away.

As soon as they were clear of No Hearts castle, Brave Heart had pounced on Harmony hugging her tight. They now sat next to each other at the Hall of Hearts table holding hands. She had explained that No Heart had kidnapped her after one of her caring missions and taken her back to his castle where he cast a spell to keep her in the charm. The black hearts around the border had reversed the special effect she had, causing her family to turn on each other.

True Heart and Noble Heart once again sat at the apex of the heart shaped table and gazed lovingly at their family. Any anxiety over No Heart being loose once more had vanished as the family enjoyed being reunited and whole once more. They knew now nothing would ever separate them from their family ever again and they would face any challenges presented to them as one.

Proud Heart trilled angrily, "Who threw that!" A huge glob of mashed potatoes dripped off the side of her face. Her eyes fixed on Playful Heart across the table but he pointed at Swift Heart who had a spoon covered in potatoes on her plate.

A smirk crossed her lips. "Two can play at that game." Proud Heart loaded her spoon with creamy spinach and launched it at the rabbit. It hit her square in the ears causing her to squeal in outrage. But rather then fixing her burning gaze on Proud Heart, she stared at Lotsa Heart, Grumpy, and Good Luck; all were laughing hysterically. Grabbing her slice of chocolate cake as well as Cozy Hearts, she lobbed them at the chuckling trio.

The cake covered their faces, stopping their giggles. Tugs and Hugs smiled at one another.

"FOOD FIGHT!" They yelled in unison and started to lob their food at random family members.

Soon the Hall of Hearts was filled with flying food, shouts of outrage and hysterical giggles.

Grams smiled, "Just like good old times."


End file.
